It’s a passion we see in countries such as England and Brazil, where fans zealously support their teams, accepting no less than a win every time they take the field.

We see it in the United States too, but not for the same nationalistic reasons. Except for a couple breakthrough U.S. players such as Landon Donovan or Freddy Adu, the passion we have is for players who haven’t even lost their baby teeth yet.

With the monthlong World Cup event just getting underway, I’m catching myself thinking about how passion fits into my soccer life, and I find myself recalling the passion I experienced when I witnessed Brazil beat Italy to win the World Cup in 1994 when it came to Pasadena’s Rose Bowl.

Soccer passion, for me, starts early every Saturday as my soccer-mom wife tries to create a spiderweb-like schedule to coordinate getting our three boys to soccer games, which are sometimes in three different cities at the same time.

But, it is our passion that makes it bearable to sit in mud after an overnight rain, or endure the hot sun after realizing we left the umbrella in the garage and the sunscreen on the kitchen counter. Yeah, we can sit in heat without water, or shiver in the damp, cold air – all because we didn’t leave home without the passion.

I’m sure any parent, especially soccer moms, know what I’m talking about. There’s snacks, drinks, water, uniforms, home or away, chairs. We haul it, organize it and haul it back when it’s all done. We do this weekend after weekend, sometimes all year long.

We do this for many reasons: physical exercise, the benefits of sport and competition, spending time with friends. But passion is what gets you out of bed on a chilly, wet Saturday to make sure your kids have a chance to play.

Passion, you might ask? Yes. Passion.

I’m sure we’ve all seen awesome potential in our kids and believe that someday they will represent the United States at the World Cup in 2014 or 2018. They could be great someday, like the greats of today.

Ronaldinho, Donovan, Eto’o, Beckham, Adu. The list could go on and on, and some day our kid could be on that list.

And with the World Cup here, we get a chance to see the world’s best go head-to-head in a culmination of passion to determine the world’s best soccer team.

The tournament started Friday with a match between Germany and Costa Rica, and the first match for the United States will be Monday against the Czech Republic. Then it’s a month of action that will take us to the finals.

Ahh, the finals. Finals that only 12years ago were here in Pasadena at the Rose Bowl. Sixty-four matches were played throughout the United States and ended at the Rose Bowl on a hot afternoon in July.

The focus of the entire planet was on the Rose Bowl, watching a shootout for the win where Brazil and Italy were deadlocked in a 0-0 tie after regulation and extra time. In dramatic, Brazilian fashion, with the chant, “Ole, ole ole ole – Brazil! Brazil!” resonating from the crowded stadium, Brazil won on penalty kicks. The celebration quickly spilled onto Colorado Boulevard in a raucous, joyous celebration of thousands of passionate Brazilian soccer fans.

Intense passion. Love for the game. The Brazilians came to Pasadena in their yellow jerseys, singing mightily to show us in the United States how good it feels to win it all for your nation.

We got it again a couple years later when the U.S. women’s team won it all, again at the Rose Bowl.

We saw it. We felt it. We loved it. Then it was gone. Gone were the lights, the stars, the coverage, the interest – but not the passion.

We had to retreat back to our personal soccer lives, the ones with skinned knees and big smiles. Our passion.